Akumas and Black Cats: Too Much Bad Luck
by Silver Butterfly 111
Summary: Defeating an akuma early means more time to talk. Chat decides to get things off his chest and tells Ladybug about his feelings but when Ladybug says that she likes someone else and Chat is too hurt to ask for clarification. Things take a turn for the worse.
1. Chapter 1

Chat was really starting to hate butterflies... and balloons and the fact that he and Ladybug always seemed to get backed into corners that seemed to come out of nowhere.

"Well this is Cat-astrophic." He muttered. Ladybug glared at him in annoyance. "Chat do me a favor?"

"Anything." He declared.

"Stop with the cat puns and be serious for a minute." Chat pretend to pout. That's hardly fair m'lady asking me not to make puns is like asking you to stop being amazing in general." Ladybug exhaled slowly.

"Chat." She warned again.

"What's the matter cat got your tongue?"

"Chat! At least try to focus. Please."

"Aww come on that one was Purr-fect."

Ladybug rolled her eyes and stepped off to the side. _Why was she moving away?_ Chat got his answer when he felt his feet leave the ground. _Oh right. Balloons. Wow I'm an idiot._

The balloons in question had tied themselves around his wrists and ankles and lifted him into the air.

The balloons existence had been caused by the latest akumatized villain. A little boy who'd thrown a tantrum after his father had refused to buy him a balloon at the fair.

The akumatized boy floated into view held aloft by a mass of brightly colored balloons. One purple and black balloon tied to his left wrist stood out among the other more vibrant reds and yellows and lime greens of the rest of the balloons. That balloon was undoubtedly where the akuma had hidden itself.

Chat twisted his head to the side and looked down the ground was getting farther away than he was comfortable with.

"Now would be a great time to get me down from here!" He called down to Ladybug. She looked up at him with a smirk. "That depends. Are you going to make more horrible puns because I should let you know that they're really starting to _bug_ me!"

Under different circumstances Chat would have been far more amused by Ladybug's pun. As it was his humor had a much more sarcastic undertone. "Haha. Very funny. I knew I'd rub off on you eventually now get me down so I can congratulate you properly."

Ladybug's attention was drawn away from him however when the little boy started to speak.

"I am the Balloon King and I _always_ get what I want! Now give me what you call your Miraculouses!"

 _Well someone went to the school of making-threatening-villain-speeches that-aren't-really-threatening._ Chat thought. _What's so terrifying about a kid with balloons?_ Other than the fact that cats hated heights but he could honestly deal with that. It wasn't really the heights he was afraid of anyway it was more the falling to his death part that scared him.

Cats were supposed to land on their feet but from past experience he knew that he seemed to lack this ability. Which sucked because it would have been a nice skill to have. Especially in the current situation.

The balloons started to move towards the little boy without any wind. And Chat realized why the balloons had gotten tied around him in the first place. Other than the fact that he hadn't been paying attention.

"He's trying to get your Miraculous!" Ladybug yelled. "Thanks for the clarification!" Chat replied. "Use your Cataclysm to cut the balloon strings." Ladybug suggested. Chat looked up at the thin white threads of string, they were obviously strong then they looked otherwise he wouldn't be floating right now. But were they really strong enough to require the use of a Cataclysm? Then there was the whole situation with the ground being far away.

Chat decided he'd much rather float then fall.

"I'm pretty sure that the Cataclysm is too much for string. What if it backfires and something bad happens to me. Other than falling to my death?!" Chat reasoned.

Even from this high up Chat could hear Ladybug sigh with annoyance.

"Then use your claws!"

Chat shook his head vehemently in response.

"Quit being such a scaredy cat." Ladybug demanded.

Chat sighed and resigned himself to the likelihood of a lot of pain in his very near future.

He scrambled around awkwardly in the air for a second before his hands grabbed the strings attached to his ankles. _I'm going to die_. He thought grimly before he took a deep breath and sliced through the string with his claws.

The balloons around his wrists pulled taunt as they took on his full weight. He squeezed his eyes shut bracing himself for the fall as he grabbed the balloon on his right wrist and severed that string as well.

The last remaining balloon had reached its limits without the other three to help it, and with a loud High-pitched snap the final string broke.

Chat had a moment of weightlessness before he felt himself plummet to the ground.

Meanwhile Ladybug had managed to find a dart from one of the game booths that had been abandoned when people had fled the fairgrounds in a panic to escape the danger of yet another akuma victim.

She threw the dart through the air like a miniature arrow and it found its target.

The little boy's black and purple balloon popped and he let out a wail of anger the way children often seemed to do when their favorite things broke.

Chat would have watched Ladybug catch the akuma but he was too busy reaching for his own weapon.

His fingers closed around his metal staff and he held it out in front of him intending for the metal to absorb most of the shock when he landed.

The metal clanged against the ground and vibrated with powerful shockwaves that made his hands tremble. He lost his grip on the staff and fell backward landing unceremoniously on the ground. He lay there on his back, staring up at the sky. His entire body shaking.

 _Add that to the long list of events I'd rather not repeat._

A shadow loomed over him suddenly and he glanced up to see Ladybug staring down at him. "Are you going to stand up?" She asked.

Chat ran his fingers across the cracked pavement of the fairgrounds. "Give me a minute." He said still in the middle of trying to catch his breath.

"Ten seconds ago I seem to remember you saying that you _didn't_ want to end up being smashed into the ground." Ladybug reminded him. Chat smiled. "Me and the ground have a love-hate relationship."

He glanced at the ring on his hand. Only one part of the pawprint had gone dark. "How long did that take?" He asked, curious.

Ladybug shrugged. "Two? Two and a half minutes?" She estimated.

"They're getting easier to beat." Chat observed. "You didn't even have to use your Lucky Charm on this one."

Ladybug bit her lip. "Easier to beat maybe but they're also getting more frequent." Chat found enough energy to get to his feet.

"Whoever is behind this must be getting lazy." Chat assured her.

"Or more desperate." Ladybug countered.

"Have I ever told you that your wonderful at being optimistic?" Chat teased.

The corner of Ladybug's mouth twitched upward before she frowned again. "Stop trying to turn this into a joke Chat, I'm really getting worried." Chat turned to face her head on, shoulders straight, perfectly serious.

"Don't be." He insisted, grabbing her gently by the shoulders and staring into her eyes. "We'll manage it. We always do," his throat closed up around his next words. _Say it. Don't say it._ But he had to say it he'd wanted to say it for so long and now he actually had a chance to say it without being under the pressure of changing back at any moment. "Ladybug we're partners and I would _never_ let anything happen to you-" she was looking at him with her blue eyes shining with patient curiosity over what he was going to say next.

His heart clenched and he mentally pushed himself forward before he lost the rest of his nerve. "-because I loveyou." He said with one quick breath. For a moment she simply stared at him with her blue eyes not blinking and Chat wondered if he'd really been that incoherent. Then she blinked once, slowly as if waking up, her cheeks tinged pale pink with the start of a blush.

Then she gave a little gasp of breath and stared to speak. "Chat I'm flattered-." Whatever she was going to say would have to wait because Chat had found an extra ounce of nerve when he'd heard the first part of her sentence.

He'd meant for the kiss to be quick and simple just a peck on the lips, but he was so relieved that he'd finally admitted he loved her that it seemed the weight had been lifted from his chest.

She went tense at first but then she started to relax a little, he took this as a good sign and kissed her a little harder. Just when it seemed like she was comfortable with it she pushed her hands out in front of her. Widening the space between them.

He blinked at her. Confused and concerned. Perhaps he'd been a bit too forward.

Her blue eyes were wide and shimmered with the start of tears. Her cheeks were flushed.

His heart twinged. Please don't cry. He pressed his hand to her cheek and rubbed gently back and forth.

She went tense under his touch.

"I'm sorry Chat, I can't." her voice trembled.

Another situation and he would have laughed at the similarly between the words ' _Chat'_ and 'can't' but his heart had fallen into his feet.

"Why not?" He asked softly.

She turned her face away from him and he grabbed her chin with his fingers, forcing her to look at him again. "I meant what I said about us being partners, you can tell me anything. I'll understand it'll be between us I swear." Ladybug exhaled a shaky breath.

"I-I like someone else." She said.

Chat must have looked visible hurt more than he'd meant to because Ladybug looked at him with a pled in her eyes for him to understand.

 _Of course she likes someone else. She's beautiful and amazing._

Chat smiled through the pain and squeezed her shoulders in a gesture meant to reassure her that he'd be fine.

His ring beeped and he glanced down at it. It was not really urgent that he leave just yet and they both knew it but Chat didn't seem to have energy anymore. " I should go. " he stated a little flatly. Ladybug shook her head pleadingly. "Chat- please don't… I shouldn't have said anything I feel horrible."

Chat shook his head firmly in return. "Don't," he insisted. "I'm glad you told me. It wouldn't have been fair to you when you like someone else… Just tell him he's one lucky cat." Chat flashed her a smile "I'll see you later." He finished before turning away from her and running across the street.

* * *

He slumped down against the wall of an alleyway and drew his knees up to his chin. Why had he confessed? Now stuff was going to be awkward between them and he didn't want that.

" _Adrien_?" Plagg asked from inside his head. Adrien mumbled something in half-hearted acknowledgement.

" _I'm sorry it didn't go the way you'd hoped_." Plagg attempted to comfort Adrien.

Adrien shrugged sadly in response.

" _If you're going to sulk let's at least go home where there's cheese. Cheese always makes me feel better._ " Plagg coaxed.

Adrien's ring gave a more insistent beep. He'd be changing back soon. Adrien didn't care though and he started to ignore both the beeping sound and Plagg's attempts at comforting him. He felt rejected and angry and confused. He was too lost in his thoughts to pay attention to his surroundings, leaving Plagg the only one aware of the approaching akuma.

" _Adrien!"_ Plagg insisted, panic in his voice. " _Adrien snap out of it! We need to get out of here!"_ but the akuma had already reached them and landed on Adrien's ring. The ring gave off a series of rapid High-pitched beeps before it glitched, the pawprint image had reset the normal bright green tinged with black and purple.

Plagg and the akuma were now locked in a battle of wills to see which of the creatures could inhabit the ring. Plagg was doing his best to weaken the akuma and the akuma was returning the favor.

It was an odd feeling. The akuma was weakening him and at the same time lending him strength. Plagg knew this was because the akuma wanted Adrien to stay in his more powerful form as Chat Noir.

Plagg was aware of another voice echoing though Adrien's conscious. Darker and more threating. It made the Kwami shudder. Plagg knew that voice. Hawkmoth. Plagg hissed.

" _Chat Noir. You feel rejected. I can help you get revenge on Ladybug."_

"No," Came Chat's reply. "I'd never want revenge on her it's not her fault."

Plagg grinned. That was Adrien. Brave and true to his word.

Hawkmoth sounded impatiently annoyed.

" _There is no need for you to be so noble Chat, she doesn't deserve your chivalry when she so clearly brushes it off."_ Adrien took longer to reply this time. "...what do you want?"

" _Only to help you forget the pain she's caused you._ " Hawkmoth repiled.

"...but you won't hurt her?"

" _There's nothing harmful about forgetting one little conversion Chat,_ " Hawkmoth soothed. " _You won't remember a thing._ "


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2: Broken Glass and The Sound of Butterfly Wings

Marinette shuffled into the classroom on Monday morning feeling guilty about not explaining things better to Chat.

She tried to shrug off the guilt. _Oh well, at least there are no more secrets._ She'd been honest with him and that was all that needed to happen he would have been three times as hurt if she'd led him on.

She slumped down into her seat next to Alya and stared at the front of the room, she knew she wasn't going to be able to focus today.

The teacher called roll and only then did Marinette realize that Adrien wasn't there. She glanced at Alya who shrugged when Marinette asked about the empty seat.

Alya tapped Nino on the shoulder and when she asked where Adrien was he Nino shrugged looking a bit more worried about the whole thing then Marinette thought was necessary.

Until he started to explain.

"Don't know where he is, we went to the fair on Saturday but then everyone started to panic because this little boy went all crazy-villain-mode and we started to evacuate I turned around for one second and when I turned back he wasn't there, I tried calling him after I got home but it went to voicemail and he hasn't called me back yet. "

Marinette felt her eyes widen but she had no idea what to say.

Thankfully she didn't have to say anything because at that moment the classrooms windows shattered and everyone screamed, ducking under their desks.

Marinette heard deranged laughter.

"I am the Prism! I shall blind you with the beauty of color!" Marinette glanced around her desk to see a tall girl dressed in a black bodysuit with shards of glass sticking out of her shoulders, arms and legs like a strange porcupine.

Chloe was less careful when it came to looking at the villain. The blonde girl poked her entire head out from behind her desk. The Prism focused her eyes on Chloe and Marinette realized that the girl's eyes were a pale gray. She was blind. _She's upset that she can't see colors. That's probably the reason she's been akumatized_.

The Prism looked at Chloe with an unnerving stare before the girl moved toward the window, listening to the birds outside and the sound of breaking glass to guide her. The glass shards on her black suit reflected the sunlight, throwing bright beams outward in all the shimmering colors of the rainbow.

Marinette shielded her eyes just in time, Chloe wasn't so lucky. "I'm blind!" the blonde wailed. Marinette scowled at the other girl's comment, Marinette ran toward the door with her head down. _I have to get out of here and transform._

* * *

Ladybug burst in through the classroom door moments later. The Prism turned toward the sound of the door slamming shut.

"Ladybug? Is that you? Finally decided to show up to see the light show did you?"

"I guess you could say that." Ladybug replied without much commitment to what she was saying none of this really seemed fair the poor girl was blind Ladybug didn't want to fight someone who couldn't really see her. _Let's get this over with._

Ladybug advanced as quietly as possible but the girl obviously had great hearing because Ladybug had take about five steps before The Prism reacted to her movements. Glass shards shot off of her suit and flew toward Ladybug who ducked with a second to spare, a glass shard brushed her arm and she cringed.

She was so busy dodging shimmering shards of glass that she almost didn't notice. Almost.

 _Where's Chat? He should have been here by now._

* * *

She was so covered in scratches by the time she'd grabbed the girl's glass hairpin and smashed it to catch the akuma that she just decided to go home and tend to all of her minor injuries. She cast a forlorn look at the broken windows hoping that Chat might still decide to make 'a fashionably late' entrance. _Very_ fashionably late but the only thing that came through the window was a light breeze that made the abandoned papers on the desks flutter softly making soft rustling sounds that reminded her of butterfly wings.

She turned away from the broken windows and crossed the empty classroom floor. The students had evacuated the room at some point but she hadn't really noticed.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3: Bright Smiles and Green Eyes

* * *

The next day Marinette sailed into her window just as her earring gave one last beep and she de-transformed. Tikki landed in her outstretched palm. "Marinette?" Tikki squeaked in her small voice. "I'm sorry- I just couldn't do it!" "Marinette I wasn't going to yell at you." Tikki said softly.

Marinette collapsed onto her bed with a helpless moan. Tikki floated over and landed on Marinette's shoulder, holding a big chocolate chip cookie in her hands. "Do you want some?" Marinette shook her head and repositioned herself so that she was sitting up with her knees drawn up to her chin. "I feel sick." She said, pulling her knees closer to herself.

Tikki gave a sigh and set the cookie down to pat Marinette's shoulder. "Are you sure we shouldn't take a break?" "Tikki you know I want to but we just _can't_ that akuma is still out there somewhere and we need to stop it." Tikki looked very serious. "But Marinette this is the third akuma villain you've fought _today,_ even heroes need a break." Marinette glanced out the window with a hopeless look in her eyes. "At least wait until Chat shows up." Tikki suggested. Marinette's heart felt like it had shards of glass in it. "He's not going to show up Tikki, don't you get it? I haven't seen him in four days,"

Tikki tried to be optimistic. "You don't know that he's not going to show up, just give him time. If this is the third villain _we've_ fought then there are probably more somewhere else that he's trying to deal with on his own." Tikki pointed out.

Marinette wasn't so easily convinced. Four days was a long time and to make matters worse Chat wasn't responding to any of her calls and the tracking system that usually helped her locate him seemed to be glitching which definitely _wasn't_ a good sign.

Marinette flopped onto her bed and stretched herself out, staring at the ceiling for a moment she took a few calming breathes and was just about ready to take a nap and then renew her search for the akuma but her phone buzzed.

Groaning in exhaustion she let the call go to voicemail and was punished for it immediately when she received a text message immediately after the phone stopped ringing and then the phone resumed it's buzzing. Whatever was going on it was obviously too important to wait until after she took a nap.

Sighing she fumbled around with her fingers for her phone. She pressed it to her ear while rubbing her eyes trying to keep exhaustion away for just a few more minutes.

Alya's voice rose on the other end of the line. "Turn on the news! Now." She insisted. Marinette heard her friend's tone and launched herself off the bed, suddenly very much awake.

She nudged her computer mouse, turning on her home screen; for once she ignored the screensaver of Adrien's face: She wanted to forget about him for a little while. It was just too painful to consider the fact that Adrien had gone missing on top of the fact that Chat seemed to be avoiding her.

Which was strange, sure they'd had a fight- if you could even call it that- but Chat didn't strike her as the kind of person who'd get too upset over even a thing like the fact that Ladybug liked someone else. It just didn't make any sense. At all.

And Chat didn't really strike her as the 'play hard to get' type either in fact she knew him to be quite the opposite.

These thoughts only made her sense of guilt worse, her heartbeat echoed in her chest and her stomach churned to the point where she felt almost physically ill.

Her computer had finished loading the local news website and it was very clear that Marinette's plan to forget about Adrien wasn't going to be as simple as she thought and she'd known that it was going to be hard in the first place.

The headline read: Boy Missing: Father Suspects Kidnapping.

If the headline was bad the video clip of the actual report was even worse.

The news reporter was standing outside Adrien's house. "Gabriel Agreste; father of Adrien Agreste reported his son missing yesterday afternoon. While the report was filed Monday morning. Mr. Agreste has admitted that his son had last been seen on Saturday afternoon at a local fair just before an a villain showed up and started to terrorize citizens.

Mr Agreste appeared on the screen: Looking stern and very professional. "I know where my son is supposed to be every minute of every day and this whole thing is a complete and utter outrage!" Mr Agreste said with barely controlled anger.

The reporter cut him off before he really could start to yell at the camera. "If anyone has seen this boy please contact the authorities," a picture of Adrien flashed onto the screen along with the number that people were supposed to call if they had information.

"In other news," the reporter continued as the picture of Adrien was replaced by the reporter's face again. "Pairs is being overrun with villains; the police force has been trying to assist Ladybug as best they can. Seeing as the other half of Paris's dynamic superhero duo seems to have gone MIA. When asked if she knew about Chat Noir's possible location, Ladybug refused to comment," that was another thing that annoyed Marinette, now that the press had figured out Chat was gone they hadn't left her alone about it.

People were really starting to irritate her with their constant questions, most were honestly far too personal then she would have liked. The reporter seemed to be wrapping up the story. "the way things are going folks it seems like Pairs is going to be in for a little bit of bad luck." The report ended with a shot showing both Adrien's and Chat's pictures side by side.

Marinette stared at the screen. _Could things get any worse?_ Marinette glared at the photos of Chat and Adrien, she'd forgotten that Alya was still on the phone until her friend spoke. Concerned about Marinette's lack of comment.

"Are you okay?" Alya asked. Marinette scowled even though her friend couldn't see it though the phone. "Why does _everyone_ keep asking me that?" Marinette yelled.

The stress and guilt she'd bottled up over that last few days just seemed to boil over. She wasn't even sure what it was that caused her to snap. Was it the question of whether or not she was okay or was it the fact that Adrien's and Chat's pictures just looked really, really similar.

Green eyes. Blond hair. Bright smiles. The sobbing came mixed with hysterical laughter that no doubt made her sound extremely pitiful. _Oh great, you're losing it_. She thought to herself.

Unless… Unless Adrien and Chat really _were_ the same person….but that would never happen. Chat- Adrien- someone would have told her.

No.

She should have already known.

'' _We're partners you can tell me anything "_

" _I-I like someone else."_

 _I like_ you. She thought, she stared at the two pictures in complete silence as the realization slapped her in the face. Her phone slipped out of her hand and landed on the floor. _I like you._ Her eyes flicked between the two photos. I like you. _Both of you. Just you._


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4: Bent and Slowly Blinded

* * *

Alya had heard Marinette's sobbing through the phone and had immediately called for an emergency trip to their favorite ice cream shop even though the news had constantly warned citizens to stay in doors.

Marinette wasn't really in the mood for going back outside and she honestly just felt like crying herself to sleep. Alya compromised and called the ice cream shop to order half pints of strawberry ice cream and caramel for herself.

An akuma villain apparently had a sweet tooth because the ice cream shop got robbed which caused the owner of the shop to lock the three of them in the back storage room for protection.

Marinette didn't bother transforming into Ladybug because she was to exhausted to do anything that would honestly help them.

So they'd sat there for hours listening as the rest of the shop was turned upside down, hours passed before the footsteps retreated and the shop owner got enough courage to unlock the door.

The tables were on their sides and one of the windows was broken, the cash register had been emptied of everything except the pennies.

The shop owner just sighed and said something about the whole thing being a shame, despite the fact that she could have used the money now that the cash register was empty the shop owner insisted that Alya and Marinette take their ice cream home for free to apologize for the fact that they'd been stuck in the back of the shop for so long.

Alya and Marinette hurried home and Alya went off to her house only after walking Marinette to her door and making Marinette promise to stop worrying about everything.

"It's stressing you out. It's not good for you." Alya insisted. Marinette sighed. _You don't know the half of it._ She thought, but she put on the best smile she could manage in the situation, thanked her friend for the ice cream and walked into the bakery. Locking the door behind her. Her parents were out of town making a special delivery and weren't supposed to be back until tommrow afternoon although if they'd seen any of the news reports they would be home much sooner. Marinette looked around the bakery, it was one of the few shops in town that hadn't been robbed yet which was surprising, Marinette hoped it would stay that way, she needed at least one thing in her life to stay clean and free of chaos. Though given her recent amount of luck that probably wasn't going to happen.

She placed her pint of ice cream in the freeze-she still didn't have much of an appetite- and climbed the stairs to her room, with the promise of her bed and her much needed nap.

* * *

She awoke hours later to the harsh sound of fire engine sirens and glanced out her window to see flashes of orange light painting the sky.

Energy somewhat restored she transformed into Ladybug with a flash of light and jumped out of the window to face the akuma villain before they burned down half of Paris.

She didn't see the figure that was crouched on a nearby rooftop, green eyes reflecting the yellow flames of the nearby fire.

* * *

Chat couldn't really say what had led him into this relatively calm neighborhood. It could have been Plagg's last remaining amount of influence over him.

It could have been Hawkmouth trying to persuade him to do something horrible.

Or it could have been himself.

Though he doubted that.

Hawkmoth hadn't lied. Chat had forgotten the conversation with Ladybug first.

And then Hawkmoth had started to twist his promise, the little part of him that was still himself wasn't really surprised about this. He hated himself for being so impressionable.

Plagg had used part of his energy to help slow the memory loss process but Chat and Adrien were still losing memories.

The good memories had been the first to fade and once Chat had realized what was happening to him he'd hidden himself away. Limited himself from human contact so he'd be less likely to hurt someone.

He'd hidden himself away and watched from afar as Ladybug had to battle akumas on her own. Hawkmoth had been told Chat that he wouldn't hurt Ladybug and he'd been honest for the most part. Hawkmoth hadn't hurt Ladybug _directly_ , but Chat knew that the villain was getting dark satisfaction from watching Ladybug fight against his evil forces all on her own. Chat had watched her with pity at first. _He should be helping her._ Pity had turned into cold indifference when he'd started to forget who she was.

And now he was here because Hawkmoth had told him to be.

He was also here because Plagg remembered something that Chat didn't. Plagg gained control from the akuma and pushed Chat forward.

Plagg remembered a little roadside bakery and a girl with a bright smile whom he'd been sent by Ladybug to protect once and Plagg was desperate for some shred of help from anyone. For himself. For Chat. For Adrien.

And so Chat's feet moved without his permission as Plagg made him land on the roof of the bakery and slipped into Marinette's empty room. And waited.

* * *

Ladybug re-entered her room through her window. The night shadows outside made the shadows in the room seem even darker. Her earring had been beeping and she'd fled back to the safety of her that she was here though the beeping had stopped. She raised her eyebrows in confusion as she looked down at her hands which were still red. _Tikki if we still have time left why am I here?_ Tikki didn't answer.

Ladybug huffed in annoyance. _Why are you acting weird? We don't have time for this Tikki._ Ladybug spun back to the window.

Something moved in the corner of her vision. "Mom?" Marinette asked. No response from the shadows. "Dad?" She tried again to identify the shadow that had moved, call it by name and have it reveal itself.

It was a stretch but she tried again. "Alya?" She turned her body so that she was facing the shadow head-on and her breath caught in her throat.

"Chat?!"


	5. Chapter 5

**Thank you for all of the** **reviews and support to this story. i really enjoy hearing from all of you.**

 **Thank you to** **LeaOotori who suggested that I get a beta reader, your feedback was very helpful. Enjoy the chapter everyone :)**

* * *

Chapter 5

Bitter and Sweet

* * *

"Chat?!" Ladybug repeated herself. Relief flooded her voice and she felt the invisible weight of the last four days lift from her shoulders.

She took a step toward him but stopped herself from getting closer when she saw the look he was giving her.

His emerald eyes were looking at her- looking past her- as if she wasn't there at all.

"Chat?" Ladybug asked cautiously. "Are you..okay?" _Oh sure what kind of question is that? Of course he's not okay he's been missing for days and he just shows up in your house randomly and the first thing you ask is if he's okay!_

She wanted to kick herself for asking something that was so obviously not true and the fact that he was staring at her like she was a complete and utter stranger made her feel uneasy. It was like she wasn't even there.

* * *

Tikki was just as confused. She'd felt Plagg's presence in the area which is why she'd forced Marinette to go back to her house, but now that they were back here she wasn't sure what she could do. She tried to communicate with Plagg telepathically like they sometimes did in battle to help Ladybug and Chat, but the mental link between the two Kwami was weaker than usual.

Ladybug was picking up on Tikki's distress and her questions towards Chat became more pleading, she took a determined step forward. "Chat?! Please!"

He hissed at her tone.

Taken completely aback Ladybug blinked and gasped. "Chat, Chat it's me." she felt tears on her face.

Tikki was still busy trying to talk to Plagg and the little bug's efforts were rewarded when Plagg finally responded to her by showing Tikki a mental image of Adrien getting possessed by the akuma.

Tikki and Ladybug both gasped in shock.

An irrational anger took hold of Ladybug. "Why does _everything_ happen to you?!" Chat's ears flattened against his head and a deep growl started in his throat.

The akuma had regained control and was back with a vengeance.

* * *

Chat had _never_ looked at her like this. One minute his eyes were blank and now they gleamed with an inner rage that made him look absolutely feral.

It was a risky move but it was the only thing she had left. One last way she could think of to get through to him. "...Adrien?" Chat froze and one of his ears pulled away from his head and twitched.

It was a good sign. _Please work._ Marinette begged and she took a deep breath before telling Tikki to release the transformation.

Marinette saw Chat's eyes widen a fraction in surprise, she exhaled slowly.

And regretted it almost immediately.

Chat's eyes narrowed and his gaze shifted to Tikki. The red Kwami didn't seem to notice the predatory look that Chat was giving her. She was just as desperate as Marinette was to get through to her partner. "Plagg!" She screamed in her little high-pitched voice.

Marinette held up a hand to stop her. "No Tikki don't-" it was too late. The red Kwami zipped toward Chat and Chat clenched his fist around the distressed Kwami.

* * *

 _Hawkmoth was smiling. If he couldn't get Ladybug's Miraculous. Then her Kwami was just as good. "Bring it to me Chat."_

Chat's eyes flicked towards the open window. "No!" Marinette flung herself toward her window with a burst of speed she thought only Ladybug was capable of.

She and Chat collided in mid-air and tumbled to the floor.

Chat stared up at her with a startled expression as if he wasn't quite sure how he'd ended up like this. Marinette didn't have time to laugh at the irony of the situation. She grabbed his wrists and pinned them to the floor. "Look at me, Chat!" She demanded, equal parts desperate and furious with his behavior though she knew it wasn't entirely his fault.

It was _her_ fault she thought grimly.

Chat glared up at her with his bright eyes glowing faintly in the dark.

So many emotions were in those eyes. rage, frustration, hatred but underneath it all was pain and desperation. The pain is what stuck her the most. Was he hurt because of her? Because of the akuma's energy? Because of Hawkmoth?

She felt another growl starting in his chest. Tears slipped from her eyes in response to the hostile sound.

"I'm sorry." Her voice shook as she spoke around the lump in her throat.

"Everything happens to you because of _me_ I'm the reason you get hurt, you always try to protect me and you get hurt because of it and the one time you needed me to protect you I just pushed you away and you got hurt _again_!" she took one of her hands away from his wrist and placed it over his rapidly beating heart without breaking eye contact. "If I _ever_ gave you the impression that I didn't need you it's not true. I _need_ your help. We're supposed to be a team. So if any part of you can hear me, whether it's Chat or Adrien... Please come back to me."

There was a blinding flash of light from Chat's fist, the sudden change of lighting made both of them blink.

Blinking away the stars in her eyes Marinette uncurled Chat's fingers and gasped when she realized that Tikki had disappeared.

"What?!" Marinette screamed with panic, she glanced frantically around the room. "Where'd she go?"

It wasn't Tikki who answered.

"Would the lovely girl on top of me care to explain why I'm on the floor with very little idea about how I got here?"

Marinette's snapped her head to look down at Chat and realized just how embarrassing the position they were in actually was, but her embarrassment didn't even come close to how relieved she felt. "Chat!" She squealed with glee...She punched him in the shoulder and he made a noise of protest as his shoulder blade dug uncomfortably into the floor.

"Ow." He whined.

"That's for scaring me half to death." Marinette scolded. Chat blinked at her, confused. He shifted his body slightly so that he was sitting up instead of lying down. "What are you-"

Marinette didn't let him finish his question. She pressed her lips to his and pulled back a moment later. "And that's for coming back."

Chat was staring at her with a slightly open mouth. "Not that I'm complaining about what just happened but can I get an actual explanation?"

"It's a long story." Marinette warned.

"I'm sure I've got time, Princess" Chat said. There was a beeping sound from his ring and he growled under his breath. "Scratch that. I always jinx myself."

Marinette squeezed her eyes shut and turned her head away. Just because she knew that Chat was Adrien didn't mean that she had to tell Adrien that. He would tell her when he wanted to and until then she would just pretend that she didn't know.

There was a flash of light that Marinette saw through her closed eyelids.

She heard him laugh softly and squeezed her eyes tighter to resist the urge to peek.

He laughed a little louder. "Oh, you can't pull _that_ anymore; the cat's out of the bag. Ladybug."

Marinette opened her eyes and turned to look at him with a nervous smile. "So you remember that much huh?" He grinned at her. "I remember a lot more than you think." He replied slyly. Marinette sputtered. "I don't know what you're talking about." She said, trying to play dumb. He raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh you don't? That's a shame, I better help you remember then." He said helpfully.

He pulled her closer to him and had started to kiss her when they were interrupted by a sudden whistle.

Marinette jerked away and her eyes snapped towards the sound and she saw Plagg floating slowly in the air. Tikki scowled and elbowed the black cat.

"Ouch." Plagg complained. Marinette jumped to her feet and ran to the two Kwami. "You guys are okay!"

"Your definition of 'okay' needs to be checked." Plagg replied grumpily.

The sound of sirens floated in through the opened window and Marinette looked down at her shoes. How had she forgotten about all the crimes that had been happening?

Adrien glanced toward the window and jumped to his feet "Plagg we should probably go and-"

Plagg shot Adrien a venomous look. "No." the little cat hissed bluntly. Adrien matched his Kwami's stubborn expression. " _Fine_ ," the little cat sighed dramatically. "Just let me go and get cheese first. I'm absolutely _exhausted_!"


	6. Chapter 6

Epilogue: Back and Better Than Ever

 _Two weeks later_

The sun was shining, the sky was bright, beautiful blue any normal person would be at the park to go for a walk or read a book in the sun.

Marinette was at the park dealing with a problem.

Ladybug screamed as the akumaized villain lashed out at her with an attack.

The small, sharp rose thorns sailed through the air and she made a hasty retreat only to find her pinned to the trunk of a tree by the little sharp thorns.

She looked sideways at her pinned right arm. The thorn had ripped through her suit, and was effectively pinning her to the wood of the tree trunk. She was reminded of the dead bugs she'd seen in museums preserved under glass cases after being killed.

Not a comforting thought.

The akuma villain approached slowly, a gloating smile on her face. The woman was blonde and a bit on the shorter side with pale green eyes, the villaniess's clothing consisted of a pink and white dress that went to her knees, the hem of the dress fanned out into a tutu and gave the impression of one big pink and white flower turned upside down, the green tights on the woman's legs ended just above the ankle. Simple white sandals rested on the woman's feet, leaving a clear view of pink painted toenails.

She reminded Marinette of a little fairy statue that she'd once seen in a shop. "I am Briar Rose!" the villainess announced. Ladybug flinched. Why did every villain have to yell their name? Ladybug said nothing however and simply watched the villainess approach, vines following in her wake. "I honestly do love ladybugs," Briar Rose gushed. "However even good little things can become pests, so give me your Miraculous and I won't have to squash you. " Ladybug scowled in reply. "Come up with an original speech and I might think about it."

Briar Rose pouted and then grinned. "I have my ways." She answered softly.

The green vines at Briar Rose's feet shot forward like angry snakes and crawled up the tree, wrapping around Ladybug's waist and constricting her further, they continued their upward climb until they were resting on her neck, they draped themselves over her ears like a strange pair of earbuds.

They began to tug at her earrings, gentle at first and then with more force as Briar Rose grew more impatient with the magic that attached the earrings to Ladybug's ears.

Just when Ladybug felt like she was going to have her ear ripped off there was the unmistakable sound of a tree getting cut down, the loud echoing groan of falling wood.

"Who dares to hurt my trees!" Briar Rose screamed with fury, the vines retreated from Ladybug and followed their mistress away as Briar Rose stormed off towards the sound.

Unfortunately the thorns stayed in place and so Ladybug stood there awkwardly for a moment before she heard the leaves rustling above her head.

Chat's head appeared right in front of hers, he grinned at her from his upside down position. She bit back a small surprised scream.

"Well you seem to be in a thorny situation don't you?" Chat teased. If her arms hadn't been pinned she would have folded them across her chest. "About time you showed up," she huffed. Chat made no attempt to defend himself. "Where have you been?" "Oh you know me," Chat said nonchalantly, looking at her upside down, a big Cheshire cat grin on his face. "Just hanging around."

"Well quit 'hanging around' and help me." "As you wish m'lady." Chat flipped himself off the tree branch and landed in front of Ladybug.

"Hurry before she comes back." Ladybug prompted, casting nervous glances in the direction Briar Rose had vanished. "Would you relax, I used the Cataclysm we should have enough time." For once his ring didn't beep to contradict his words.

He focused on the thorns and bit his lip. "This might hurt." he said apologetically. Ladybug took a deep breath, bracing herself. "I can take it." She replied determined. "Never said you couldn't, Princess." Chat tugged a thorn out of Ladybug's arm, while he would have much rather preferred to take his time and be more gentle with her, she was right. Briar Rose could be coming back and they had to get this done. The sooner, the better.

It had taken a few days to get the increase of akuma villains under control but they had managed to drop it back down to its original one or two a day. Which was a relief.

That wasn't why they were hurrying. The akumas were under control….The news reporters were a different story. With 'the return of Chat Noir' and the missing Adrien Agreste boy being found one morning asleep in his bed with no visible injuries to speak of. Everyone was scrambling to be the one to figure out how everything had been solved.

The sooner they got rid of the akuma the less chance they had of running into a reporter.

Ladybug jerked her head towards the sound of tires skidding on asphalt. _Speak of the devil and he appears_.

Chat pulled the last thorn out and pressed his thumb gingerly over the injury when a small bead of blood arose.

"I'm fine," she insisted. It's just a little prick. I'll get it patched up later," "right now we have company," she tilted her head towards the news van.

Chat however didn't seem to notice, or he simply didn't care. He took the pad of his finger away from the bleeding injury and rubbed the speck of blood off on his own suit.

He took her hand and kissed her palm, his lips moved slowly upward from her hand to her wrist and up her arm. Ladybug rolled her eyes and tried to ignore the little shivers that were going up and down her spine.

"Chat. People. Are _watching us."_ She snapped, trying hopelessly to control the feeling of butterflies in her stomach and the hot blush on her cheeks. He looked at her unconcerned about the possibility of cameras.

"I'm used to cameras, Princess, let 'em watch." He leaned even close to her with his hands braced on the tree trunk on either side of her.

Her breath was coming in little rapid gasps. Her shy Marinette instincts were starting to get a hold of her brain. She made a squeaking sound like a mouse caught in a trap and jumped upward into the tree.

* * *

Minutes later they found themselves reclining on Adrien's couch, staring at the news reports watching for anything about akuma they might have missed.

"You know sometimes I hate our job." Adrien complained as he shifted into a better position and flinching when his muscles protested.

"Tell me about it." Marinette agreed, dabbing her thumb with a drop of disinfecting cream and rubbed it gently on her arms where the thorns had poked her skin.

"What are you two whining about? Me and Tikki do all the work." Plagg insisted.

"And yet you don't hear _me_ complaining about it." Tikki interrupted with an annoyed tone. "Why must you complain so much?" The little bug asked. "Because he's a dramatic fuzzball." Adrien teased.

Plagg shot Adrien a death glare.

Tikki took a chocolate chip cookie from the plate on the coffee table and took a bite out of it, the Kwami chewed the cookie while she rolled her eyes.

Tikki shared a look with Marinette. "At least now we know why Chat is so dramatic."

Marinette laughed.

"I'm taking that as a compliment." Adrien informed Tikki.

Plagg scowled. "Speak for yourself."

Tikki frowned and threw her cookie at Plagg. "Quit the cat-fight you two," Tikki scolded. "Honestly I sometimes wish I didn't save you from the akuma, you're much more pleasant to be around when I don't have to hear constant complaints. "

The mood of the room shifted.

Adrien went rigid as half-fuzzy memories wandered into his brain.

Alleyways at night where he jumped at every little sound and felt as if the shadows from the outside were closing in around him as he fought the akuma's own shadow within himself.

He shuddered.

Marinette cleared her throat awkwardly and looked at Tikki

"I've been meaning to ask… how you did that- how you got Plagg out of the ring."

Tikki hovered in the air next to Plagg, the two Kwami shared a look, apparently having some sort of debate that didn't require verbal yelling. An agreement was reached and Tikki cleared her own little throat in a similar fashion as Marinette had done. Clearly choosing her words carefully.

"Our Miraculouses have always been partners, there is always some sort of significant bound between the two people who are chosen to wear our objects," Tikki cast a meaningful glance at Adrien's ring and at Marinette's earrings. "Whether that bond is a very strong friendship, or ties between siblings or something even stronger-" here she stopped and gave them another understanding look and Marinette felt her cheeks go pink. Would she never stop blushing?

Tikki continued. "-whatever the case may be Ladybug and Chat are meant to balance each other, and usually they do just fine but there are times when even people who have strong bonds will have fights, or hurt the other person, without meaning to, this was your first major miscommunication and that made Plagg and myself more vulnerable to your strong emotional states,"

Tikki turned to Marinette. "You were confused and shocked when Chat confused because you were convinced that no one would ever develop strong feelings towards you when it came to ones that were romantic in nature, you were used to him flirting but not truly confessing,"

Plagg broke in then and supplied Adrien's half of the dilemma. "And you were used to Ladybug brushing you off or ignoring you but you assumed it was just part of the game and that she was just trying to get used to you, but when she said that she liked someone else you thought you weren't good enough and you blamed yourself."

Marinette shot Adrien a worried glance from across the couch and opened her mouth to say something but Tikki demanded their attention again.

"After a fight, the bond between Miraculous wearers is always weakened and this was your first big emotional miscommunication, the bond weaken enough for Hawkmoth to slip through the protective forces that surround Chat's ring in order to prevent akuma-possession happening,"

Marinette touched her earring gently and Adrien stared down at his ring.

"You're bond was thrown off balance but when Chat showed up and Marinette admitted that she felt guilty, you two got your balance back and I was able to use the newer and stronger bond to enter Chat's ring and stabilize Plagg's energy and help him destroy the akuma,"

"Wait you can enter the other person's Miraculous?" Adrien questioned. Tikki shrugged and shook her head. "Yes, but it only works when the two of you strengthen your ties between each other, it doesn't work every single time I would recommend you try getting into less trouble."

Adrien shrugged helplessly. "Not my fault black cats attract bad luck."

Marinette grinned at him and bounced a little closer to him on the couch. "Bad luck is good sometimes, keeps me on my toes." Adrien smiled back. "Well then that's at least some good news for me."

Plagg made a disgusted noise. "You two are _bleh,_ I'm going to go be anywhere else but here. " he called over his shoulder before floating off to go stare out the window.

Tikki huffed and rolled her eyes.

It was then that the TV chimed in with a special report.

"This just in. Paris's bad luck seems to be turning back around. With the mysterious reappearance of a certain Adrien Agreste investigations continue as to why and how he disappeared in the first place. And that's not the only reappearance that has people wanting answers. As it seems that Chat Noir is also back in action with Ladybug which is a big relief for other….less qualified law enforcement officers,"

The reporter's smile grew wider. "And apparently everyone favorite superheros have some special good luck all to themselves." Marinette froze and stared at the TV screen in shock as a clip of Ladybug and Chat began to play on the screen.

It was the scene from earlier today, the one where Chat- and by extension- Adrien had been worrying over her injuries.

She made a distressed noise and blushed such a deep red that her skin was almost the same color as Ladybug's suit.

She lunged for the remote so fast that she almost fell off the couch, she pressed the power button on remote so hard that Adrien was convinced that she'd jammed the button. The TV went black.

Plagg protested with an amused laugh. He'd obviously regained interest in them. "It was just getting good." He teased.

Marinette made a choking noise and collapsed back onto the couch, turning her body so that her face was buried into one of the cushions. "My life is over." She complained in despair. Her voice muffled by the thick cushion she had her face buried in.

Plagg laughed.

"Don't make me get a fly swatter." Adrien threatened.

Plagg hissed and scowled.

"I told you they saw us." Marinette's voice interrupted. Adrien grinned and rubbed her back in an attempt to calm her. "I don't care that they saw." He reassured. "That's not the point," Marinette insisted. She still refused to remove her head from the couch cushion. "None of the reporters are going to leave us alone now!"

"Did they leave us alone before?" Adrien asked. Marinette shook her head. "More people are going to get in the way of us trying to fight akuma. People will get hurt," she paused to take a breath and her voice returned a little bit more angry. "I'm going to kill the reporter who got that footage."

"That would defeat the purpose of us trying to protect people." Adrien pointed out.

Marinette muttered accusingly under her breath.

Adrien chuckled softly and stood up from the couch to cross the room to his computer. He plopped down into his swivel chair and pulled himself close to the desk.

After entering a search term into the web browser a list of links popped up.

"The video's already trending." Adrien said aloud, he received a muffled groan in response from Marinette.

"We've already gone viral."

"I've officially died of embarrassment." Marinette whined.

Adrien rolled his eyes and continued scrolling through the web links. "I'll make sure there are roses at your funeral."

"Red ones please." Marinette requested.

Adrien nodded and scrolled back up to the top of the page and clicked on the first link.

"Red with black spots." He repiled. Marinette gave a little muffled laugh from her couch coffin.

"Subtle." She muttered.

"I'm all about subtlety, Princess." Adrien replied nonchalantly.

Marinette finally sat up and took a deep breath. "Might as well write 'here lies the former Ladybug' on both my course and tombstone."

"Whatever you want." Adrien said honestly. He cleared his throat and stared to read from the article he'd found in a cheesy overly-dramatic voice.

"The video above which shows our two heroes sharing a brief but obvious display of affection was captured by Alya Césaire die-hard Ladybug fan and proud owner of the Ladyblog."

Marinette picked up a pillow and chucked it at Adrien. "Don't read it like _that_ , it makes it _worse_!" She complained.

"Are you sure _Chat's_ the dramatic one?" Adrien asked skeptically.

"Shut up." Marinette snapped.

"You're the one who said you'd kill the reporter who got that footage. Still going to go through with it now that you know it's your best friend?"

"Of couse not. I was joking when I said that," Marinette insisted. "But me and Alya are definitely going to have a talk about privacy." Marinette muttered.

Adrien grinned at her angry tone. "Ooh, I'll hold your earrings if there's a cat fight, wouldn't want you to have an unfair advantage." glanced between Marinette and Tikki, trying to make his point overly obvious. He smiled. Marinette threw another pillow at him.


End file.
